2011 Annual Report “Volunteers...you are my sunshine!”

Who We Are: Volunteer MBC is a volunteer centre that fosters and develops volunteerism in the Region of Peel, serving the cities of and , and the Town of Caledon, by raising awareness of the power of service. Here’s what we do: • We offer a referral/matching service for volunteer placement within the community for all ages to include youth, seniors, newcomers and groups; • We serve the corporate community with various programming services that engage individual and team volunteering; • We provide education and support for volunteers and community service agencies and organizations through topic and issue related workshops, comprehensive and informative programs, and community outreach; • We strive to be a strong voice to support and promote volunteerism through advocacy, community outreach, public and media relations.

Our Mission: Our Vision: Volunteer MBC promotes and supports To be a centre that unites citizens to ensure volunteerism in an effort to connect a healthy community where people care for all people to meaningful volunteer each other and feel safe in an environment opportunities. that promotes growth and respect.

2011 - In Review:

• Our volunteer referral service referred 12,526 volunteers, a 21% increase over last year comprised of 5,742 youth (under the age of 18) and 6,784 adults (over the age of 18). • Participated in the 2011 ChangeTheWorld - Youth Volunteer Challenge and held 66 events in schools and in the community. Engaged 3,360 youth (an increase of 40% over last year). Students volunteered a total of 15,908 hours. • Increased our membership to over 120 organizations, compared to 100 at the same time the previous year. • Reached out to 22,000 people in the Region of Peel. • Increased social media exposure and appeared on a number of TV shows. Resulted in 25% increase in traffic to our website. • Now get on average 4,700 visitors monthly. 107,000 unique visitors since the launch in late 2009. • 4,084 individual volunteer profiles have been created. • Conducted 25 workshops engaging close to 1,200 volunteer management professionals. • We moved to our new home at Community Door in Brampton in April, 2012. As a result, our walk-in clients who need assistance with referrals has increased by 90%. • To assist with the influx of activity we hired a part-time Referral Specialist. A Letter From Our Board President: In just over three short years, we have achieved some amazing accomplishments and the results show that we are truly making a difference in the lives of the many volunteers that the centre has served to date, as well as being able to deliver the much needed support and assistance to community service members across the Region of Peel.

The Volunteer MBC staff and the Board of Directors have shown tremendous dedication in serving the community and we are continuing to take changes in stride in order to deliver a much-needed service of supporting volunteerism and advocating for the sector.

This year our plans continue to be greater and I’m pleased to announce that the centre has recently opened our new Mississauga location, near Square One Shopping Centre in the heart of Mississauga. We will be launching our Caledon location this coming Spring, which will also be centrally located for easy access. It is an exciting time for all of us at Volunteer MBC as we move forward in having physical locations to serve each of our three communities - Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon.

In the coming year, we will continue to focus our efforts on two key components, one of which is to continue to educate the community on volunteerism through an aggressive marketing campaign to reach out to our community’s target audience; youth, newcomers, seniors, community groups and employee volunteers. Our other key component is to continue to focus on the delivery of programs and services that support volunteerism, examples include our on-line volunteer opportunities database, as well as providing consultation and training to help strengthen organizations to better manage their volunteer resources. We are also continuing to expand our one-on-one referral and matching service for volunteer placement within the community.

We are very grateful for the on-going support of our members, our volunteers who help us with our mission delivery, as well as our partners and our funders. The excitement is building as we continue to grow and flourish!

Bonnie Yagar Board President

“As a newcomer I was able to get a quick response “It was a wonderful experience to meet you and to and a one-on-one consultation. I was happy that I have lots of guidance for volunteer work. I really was able to get an opportunity. Thank you!” appreciate your help.” ~ Anita ~ ~ Neeru~

2012 - Plans for the Future: • Increase civic engagement in the community. Target outreach of 25,000 vs. 22,000 in 2011. • 12% increase in overall volunteer referrals or 14,029 referrals, increasing volunteer hours to 1,781,698. • Opened new location in Mississauga in February 2012. • Hired a part-time Office & Referral Coordinator for our Mississauga location. • Satellite office for Caledon opening at the Albion-Bolton Library in June 2012. • Market and implement “Time to Give Challenge” employer-supported volunteer program. • Secure funding for “Empower Youth to Create Community Change” program (EY-3C) to increase youth engagement. • Collaborate with other youth engagement organizations. • Work with municipalities to secure volunteers for neighbourhood projects. • On behalf of the Ontario Volunteer Centre Network (OVCN), Volunteer MBC secured funding from the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration for a Partnership Grant. Hired a Network Coordinator to manage the 3-year project. • Review strategic plan for the next 5 years. 2011/2012 Board of Directors: • Bonnie Yagar, LL.B.,LL.M., TEP, Associate, Pallett Valo LP - Board President • Gurpreet S. Malhotra, Principal Consultant, Malhotra and Associates - Board Vice President • Geraldine Aguiar, Director of Community Programs, Heart House Hospice - Board Secretary • Santiago Gomez, Retired Tax Accountant, Cineplex Odeon Corporation - Board Treasurer • Michele Robinson, Recreation Supervisor Community Development, Community Services, City of Brampton • Nicole Deckert, Fund Development Offi cer, Caledon Parent-Child Centre/Ontario Early Years Centre • Nitin Dhora, Coordinator, Employment Ontario Employment Services and Peel Mentoring Partnership Program, Dixie Bloor Neighbourhood Centre

The future rests in YOUR helping hands!

Our Goals: Our Beliefs: Promote - reach out to all potential volunteers. • Volunteers are the back-bone of the voluntary sector. Their contributions are essential to maintain a Connect - use our website and one-on-one healthy, vibrant society. consultation to match potential volunteers to • In bringing valuable recognition to volunteers, we opportunities in not-for-profi t organizations. can all add value to the quality of life within the Strengthen capacity - we help voluntary sector community. organizations do a better job at recruiting, • That we are a centre that unites citizens to ensure a healthy community where people care for each managing and retaining volunteers. other and feel safe in an environment that promotes Partner with community organizations - to be growth and respect. a voice for volunteers and volunteerism in the • That every volunteer has a unique gift that they can community. use to help others and to improve their community.

A Letter From Our Executive Director: The Annual Report is an important milestone for Volunteer MBC. As we refl ect on 2011, it has been a very rewarding and exciting year. Never before have our member organizations relied so heavily on volunteers to build capacity to assist them to achieve their missions and with close to 13,000 referrals, a 21% increase over 2010, Volunteer MBC delivered in a big way! Our goal of “Helping People Help People” throughout the Region of Peel was achieved successfully.

Our incredible volunteers, Board of Directors and staff all share credit for the truly extraordinary accomplishments described in these pages. Volunteer MBC nurtures volunteers, and responds to their needs so that they, in turn, can respond to the needs of their community. Our collective work is fuelled by their heart and passion. Ultimately, what drives the volunteer to give their time inspires us all to support their efforts. We continue to work together to provide an avenue for people to be engaged in a meaningful way and work for the change that will make communities stronger, healthier, and most of all – connected.

To our members, funders and partners – we commend you for your tremendous impact in our community which is helping to create an engaged, inclusive, and vibrant community. We look forward to our continued work together.

On behalf of Volunteer MBC, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the wonderful volunteers in the Region of Peel who give their time so freely to bring sunshine, smiles and love to young and old every single day. “Just a single sunbeam of yours is enough to drive away many shadows” ~ St. Francis of Assisi.

You are incredibly special people!

Carine Strong Executive Director 2011 Year-end Financial Statements:

Our Staff: (from left to right) • Carine Strong, Executive Director • Adriane Beaudry, Program Manager • Shaminda Perera, Referral Specialist () • Sharon Clark-Koufi s, Marketing & Communications Manager • Marina Campos, Offi ce Manager • Madhuri Payidiparty, Offi ce & Referral Coordinator (Mississauga Centre)

Volunteer MBC Volunteer MBC Brampton Centre (Main Location) Mississauga Centre 7700 Hurontario Street, Unit 601 151 City Centre Drive, Unit 501 Brampton, ON L6Y 4M3 Mississauga, ON L5B 1M7

905.238.2622 www.volunteermbc.org  www.facebook.com/LikeVolunteerMBC  www.twitter.com/VolunteerMBC To All Our Supporters and Volunteers...We Thank You!

Charitable Registration #: 84792-0469-RR0001